We take Subway Adventures with C.

He decides the destination, and off we go. Times Square. Canal Street. Brighton Beach. This Sunday, I let him navigate. First stop: 125th Street in Harlem on the A train. He loves the A train because it runs express.

He was jump-dancing as we flew past each stop—72nd! 81st! 86th! 96th! 103rd! Cathedral Parkway! 116th!—gleefully calling out the names of each passing station. Passengers looked: some smiles, some scowls. I loved it.

Rather than exiting at 125th Street, we headed to the downtown platform and took the A train the entire length of Manhattan to the World Trade Center. Once there, we explored the new PATH Terminal. He flopped on the ground and stared up at the vaulted, cathedral-like ceiling. He took his shoes off and skittered about saying, “Ice skating!” Announcing, “The tile is cold,” he strode over to a section of floor bathed in sunlight.

I watched him walk away until he was just a speck in a sunbeam.

When we were done exploring the PATH Terminal, he led me to the 2 train so we could return to Columbus Circle. This was his afternoon, and he took the lead, choosing destinations, reading signs in the subway stations, finding the right train to get where we were going.

Reflecting on our adventure, I realized that this is what happens when we presume competence instead of incompetence. When we assume capability instead of inability. This is what happens when we encourage “What if?” instead of “Why not?”

I was so proud of C. More importantly, he was proud of himself.

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